


I'll Be Your Bird

by muzzleofbees



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Community: avengerkink, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-29
Updated: 2012-05-29
Packaged: 2017-11-06 06:13:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/415654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muzzleofbees/pseuds/muzzleofbees
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <a href="http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/5758.html?thread=7295358#t7295358">Prompt</a>
</p><p> </p><p> so it seems to have become common fanon that Clint builds "nests" in high places like rafters and ceiling ducts. I want to see the rest of the Avengers wondering where that particular behavior came from, and him eventually telling someone.</p><p>bonus points if he started doing it in response to something really horrifying or traumatic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Your Bird

"Why do you do that?" Tony asked, in between shucking sunflower seeds with his teeth. The shells rained down to the floor. One of the robots would be by in a minute to sweep up the mess. Tony didn't like to live in a world where he had to be thoughtful. 

Clint didn't know what he was talking about. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary. This was the first time he'd been back to Stark Tower in nearly a month, and he was hoping for more of a How was the mission? question. Because the mission had been pretty badass, and he wanted to blab all the shareable parts. 

"Why do I do what?" 

"That." He pointed straight up. Clint followed the line of his finger, dropping his head back to study the huge oak beams running from north to south beneath the vaulted ceilings. The room was on the fifty-eighth floor had become their unofficial HQ, much to Clint's pleasure. It was a lucky coincidence that they chose his favorite room. 

"What?" 

"That. Christ, I saw your nest up there and I told JARVIS to call the exterminator. You can thank Pepper for saving all your things. She stepped in at the last moment and said 'We put up with your quirks, Tony.' Like she has to put up with me. So what's the deal?" 

"It's safe there." 

"It's safe behind a lock." 

Clint shook his head. "Locks can be picked, broken, blown up." 

"Nobody's going to do that here." 

Clint only shrugged. "I can move, if you like." 

"No, don't do that! Are you trying to get me killed? When Natasha heard about the whole exterminator business, she made rather threatening remarks about my delicate region. God knows what she'll do if she sees the nest is gone. What they'll do. No, you're fine bird boy. I was just curious." 

#

"Can you fly, little bird?" 

"You know I can't fly, Thor." 

"Then how are you so adept at reaching such heights?" He landed on Clint's branch, shaking the whole tree. He had to grip the branch to keep from plummeting some thirty feet. 

"I climb." 

Thor peered down to the base of the trunk with a doubtful expression. "Is that not a long and uncomfortable process? I will be happy to assist you to your nests." 

That word again. "Thank you, but I like climbing." And it was rather more discrete than soaring through the air with a blond demigod and his mighty hammer. Thor never had to think about things like that. He was the son of the All-Father, he did not go sneaking around. Clint, on the other hand, was not the son of the All-Father and it was important for him to remain far, far below the radar. 

"Are you not cold?" 

"No," he said mildly, "I'm fine." They were monitoring a terrorist cell in California. Natasha and Darcy were in the temporary field unit they set up below, keeping an eye electronically while he watched from above. Why Thor joined them on this mission, Clint didn't know.

"Do you prefer to live in a tree? Do you not get lonely?" 

"No, I don't get lonely. Somebody needs to keep an eye on what's going on." 

"I will be happy to keep an eye on what's going on!" 

Telling Thor to lower his voice did no good, so Clint just shook his head. "Thank you, but I'm good. Why don't you see if Natasha needs any help?" 

Later, he learned Thor joined them because they weren't just terrorists. They were terrorists under Loki's control. They didn't tell him. Did they think he was still compromised? The night they returned, he moved his nest to a different part of Stark Tower. 

#

An arrow struck every second, whizzing past Captain America's head to bury in the chests of the HYDRA soldiers. He and Thor pushed back the horde, but Hawkeye was dropping them like flies at an incredible rate. So incredible that Steve would not be surprised to learn he had a clone or five up there with him. 

Nobody paid much attention to Hawkeye. Sometimes it seemed like most of the population didn't even know he was a part of the Avenger Initiative. He rarely got credit for anything. Once they were finished up here, Captain America and Thor would be celebrated for their victory, and unless he said something about it, probably nobody would remember that Hawkeye was even present, much less crucial. That used to bother Steve. A lot. His sense of fair play refused to let him take credit for work he did not do, and he found himself in that position all of the time now that Hawkeye always had his back. 

But there wasn't much he could do about it because Hawkeye seemed to prefer it that way. "Don't worry about it, Cap. The less said about me, the better." 

"Because you're a spy?" 

"Sure." And then he disappeared to perch on some ledge, and Steve realized that was the longest conversation they'd ever had. Assuming that was because he failed as a leader, he resolved to make an effort to engage with Clint at least once a day. A full month passed before Steve was forced to admit that it was difficult to talk to a man who had no compunction about turning off his ear bug before disappearing to one of his hidden nests. After he disappeared from their headquarters--a room only used because of Natasha's insistence--nobody ever spotted his new nest. 

Steve tried not to take it personally. Hawkeye hardly communicated with anybody on the team. He would speak if spoken to, but he never started a conversation. He just...watched. 

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you're never going to catch him," Natasha had told him. "If you chase, he'll just climb higher." 

"All I want to do is talk to him." 

"He's not big on talking. What's the matter? Afraid he doesn't like you." 

"No," Steve said stiffly. "I'm afraid he's not a full member of this team." 

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "He's here, isn't he? What more do you want from him?" 

"I want to know why he's in the air more than Iron Man." 

"You're a smart man, Captain. Figure it out." 

He couldn't figure it out, so he settled for an understanding of sorts. Hawkeye had his unspoken appreciation and respect, and Cap had the comfort of knowing nothing could knock Hawkeye down from his perch. 

#

When Clint fell, he fell hard. That was only the fourth time in his thirty-five years that he lost his balance, but it was definitely the worst. His arm was broken in two places, and Dr. Banner predicted a full recovery. Director Fury was calm about the news, telling him to take a vacation, he earned his rest. But there wasn't anything he wanted to do, and nowhere he wanted to go, so he kicked around Stark Tower. 

"So the bird's been grounded. Tough break, champ." Tony had blueberries this time. Not as messy as sunflower seeds, but the robot was still following behind him. "I've noticed you've actually been sleeping on a bed and sitting on the furniture." 

"For now." 

"Would you like a ladder?" 

"No, thank you." 

"Clint, seriously, I've got to know. Why do you do that? I'm not judging. I'm not saying you have to stop. If you want, I will build you a crow's nest at the top of this tower and you can perch up there all day. I just want to know." 

That actually sounded really tempting. He would be up as high as the birds then. Higher, even. 

"Did you ever go to the circus when you were a kid?" 

"Yes. I liked the elephants. Hated the clowns." He shook his head with a small shudder of disgust. "It's like, who are you people?" 

"Good question. Most of the circus folk weren't very nice people. Not a big surprise, right? By the time anybody realizes something happened...something's stolen or somebody's killed...the culprit has moved on. And some of them...they've already been kicked out of society. Some of them shouldn't even be allowed to draw breath." 

Tony's face flickered, and he seemed to realize where this was going. 

"Little boys without parents are particularly attractive to some men. And you know, locks won't stop them. Barney tried to protect me at first but...it's every man for himself in the circus. We're all just trying to scrape out a living and Barney loved me but he was no different. He wasn't selling me, just selling them the key to my trailer." He said the words flatly, without condemnation, but Tony visibly flinched. "So I moved. I found a place they couldn't reach me, and if they tried, well, I'd see them coming. But they wouldn't see me until it was too late." 

"Okay, I'm definitely building you a crow's nest. But you are safe here. Nothing like that will ever happen to you again" 

"None of us are safe, Tony. Nobody is. That's why the Avengers have to exist. You trust everybody here, and I suppose that's a good thing. They're your team, so you ought to trust them." 

"Are you saying you don't trust anybody here?" 

"I don't even trust myself." Clint considered for a moment then said, "I trust Agent Romanov." That's good enough for Tony, since he's not much a team player either. 

#

 

Stark builds him his crow's nest. He even remodels Clint's room, knocking out the floor above and adding more beams across the new ceiling. After he's settled there, he doesn't feel the urge to make a new nest again. He's finally home.


End file.
